Humidifying and air-moistening apparatus.



No. 873,924. PATENTED DEC. 1'7, 1907.

S'. W. GRANIER. HUMIDIFYING AND AIR MOISTENINGAPPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 2, 19o?.

` 2 SHEETS-SHEET z,

INVENTOR WJTNESSES STUART W. CRAMER, OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.

HUMIDIFYIN AND AIR-MOISTENING AP'ARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1907.

Application led ugust 2. 1907. Serial No. 386.775.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STUART VY. ORAMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Charlotte, in the county of Mecklenburg and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and vuseful Improvements in Humidifying and Air Moistening A' paratus; and I do hereby declare the fol owing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to. which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to humidiiers-and air moistening apparatus, has for its object increasing or diminishing the amount of moisture without varying the amount of air handled or the fineness of the spray, and consequently without varying the air cleansing effect, and the invention consists in certain improvements which will be fully disclosed in the following specification and claims.

It is well known that for certain situations it is necessary to discharge less s ray than is desirable at other laces, and a so'that reducing the spray by adjusting the sprayhead or nozzle, lessens the amount of air handled, in the induced draft type of single casing humidifiers. 'Now as the. air cleansing etl'ect is directly proportionable to the amount of air handled, and the desirability of air cleansing is one of the chief reasons for the adoption of the outer and inner casing or wall types with their large air capacity positively handled, it is evidentthat any reduction of air capacity must be viewed with eX- treme disfavor and that any form of construction that will obviate such a fault is highly desirable.

In my improved form of construction, I

use a iixed spray-heady or nozzle that always delivers a continuous and uniform spray and requires no adjustment whatever. The

amount of spray issuing from the dischargeV end .of the inner casing or Wallis regulated ntirely by the size or area of the opening be- Ween the lower end of the inner casing or wall and a conical dellector which is adjust-I ably secured, as may be desired. In other words, the spray is simply throttled by par-- tially closing the discharge opening, by moving the delector towards the bottom or discharge end ofthe inner or spray-chamber; and conversely, byv lowering the deilector, fulldischarge opening for the spray is secured and consequently maximum capacity. In neither case however, is there any change ing or wall.

let down untilenough spray is admitted to.

the air current to surcharge it so highly as to give the appearance of steam vapor as it issues Jfrom the apparatus.

A further purpose is to secure a maximum of humidifying effect and immunity from wetting down the floor.Y Many schemes have been devised to prevent wetting down, but curiously enough have been along the line of reduction of capacity rather than the contrary. The usual construction, is to turn the lower edge of the casing up to form a trough to carry oil' the surplus water and to prevent the air getting at or coming in contact with it.

Heretofore the trouble has been that the current of air has been allowed to blow the coarser particles and dro s of water outward which wet down the oor under each apparatu's; and so the practice of catching the coarser particles and dro s of water in a trough attached to the ower end of the casing, did stop the wetting down. But, I propose doing the very opposite, thereby accomplishing the same resu t and yet utilizing the hamiditying eHect of the very considerable quantity of water which is otherwise lost. I lan to divert a part of the air current'v and et it blow inward and across the drip from the lower edge of the inner cas- It will be; thus seen that not only is there enough water to saturate that part of the air, but also the direction of the current is such as to always keep the coarse particles of water blown inward and toward the center rather than outward. This effect is further secured by the direction given to the remaining current of air between the outer and inner casings orl walls, which is such as to beat down and inward any stray particles that may be emerging with the spray which is drawn out by the outgoing air current. The diverting of a portion. of the air current is accom lished by an annular receptacle or trough onovel shape supported Jfrom the pan below by standards attached to the outer casing; this deflecting trough being so placed as to catch a part of the air current on the outside and the drip from the inner casing or wall on the inside; the bulk of the drip is blown inward with such force as to convert a considerablequantity into spray,

and any surplus overilows through aper- `tures down the supporting standards to the pan.

In the accompanying` drawings, whichform part of this specilicationz-Figure 1 represents a vertical section partly in elevation of a device embodying my invention, and Fig. 2 a plan view on line 2, 2, Fig. 1.

Reference being had to the drawings and the designatinglr characters thereon, the numeral 1 indicates the outer casing or wall provided with an outwardly flaring deflecting skirt 2. 8 the inner casing or wall, both of which walls are preferably cylindrical and the latter arranged concentrically in the former and supported thereon by suitable braces 4, or in any preferred manner, and the two walls 1 and 3, form an annular air chamber or passage 5 between them.

46 indicates an electric motor, to whose shaft 7 a lian or propeller 8 is secured for supplying air to the device. The motor is secured to a frame 9 resting upon the upper end of the casing 1 and is properly secured thereto.

10 indicates a spray chamber within the wall 3 and is supplied with atomized spray from a spray-head 11, which spray strikes a iixed spreader 12 on a bar 13 and diffuses the spray in the spray-chamber in a highly attenuated or cloud like condition. At the lower or discharge end of the spray-chamber is a conical deflector 14 adjustably supported on the wall 3, by hooks 15 secured to said wall and hangers 16 secured to the deilec tor, and each hanger is provided with a plurality of holes 17 which engage the hooks 15, and provide Jfor vertical adjustment of the dellector to throttle the spray in its passage from the chamber 10, to suit the conditions required and regulate the amount of spray which is commingled with the air lowing through the annular passage 5.

At the lower end of the wall 8 is an outwardly and downwardly extending deecting ilange 18 against which air in its passage through the chamber or passage 5 impinges and the major portion thereof is directed outward toward the skirt 2 on the outer wall or casing 1.

19 is an annular trough or receptacle bef low and separate from the wall J, and arranged to catch the water which accumulates on and flows down the wall 3 and its flange 18. The' trough is preferably provided with an angular bottom 20 and an ,inwardlyinclined outer wall 21, which extends above the lower end of the lange 18, and deflects air inward across the receptacle and carries the heavier particles of water toward the center of the spray-chamber, where they impinge against the conical delector 14 and are again comminuted by contact therewith. T hewall 21 is provided with outlets 22 through which excess water is discharged and flows down the hangers or braces 23 on which the receptacle is supported, into the drip pan 24 which collects the surplus water.

The delector 14 is provided with a flange 25 at its periphery forarresting and detain ing heavy particles of water, and with openings 26 for allowing it to escape into the drip pan 24.

The drip pan 24 is provided with an upwardly inclined llange 27, which extends beyond the skirt 2 on the outer casing or wall 1, and the air flowing down the passage 5 is diverted by the inner surface of the skirt 2, toward the center of the device and by contact with the spray emergingifrom the spraychamber beats back the heavy particles of water toward the center of the drip pan 241, where they gravitate into the pan and reduce the wetting down of the floor to a minimum. At the same time the air passing out directly is discharged radially, draws the spray from the spray-chamber and is mixed therewith before it issues into the surrounding atmosphere. Water is conducted from the drip pan 24 through an opening 2S. It will thus be observed that the flow of the air is constant and unvaried, and the supply of spray is also constant, but its discharge is regulated to produce the results desired, and that the constant tendency of the construction is to force or drive the particles of water inward and prevent their escape in such condition that they can produce wetting down.

1t is obvious that changes in details of con* struction may be made without departing Jfrom the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a humidifier, a casing, means for producing a current of air through the casing, a

spray-chamber within said casing, means for supplying spray to the spray-chamber, an adjustable dellector at one end of the spraychamber, and 'means for collecting surplus water at the discharge end of the casing.

2. In a humidifier, a casing, means for supplying air to the casing, a spray-chamber within said casing, means for supplying spray to the spray-chamber, a conical delector at the outlet end of the spray-chamber, means for varying the area of the opening between the spray-chamber and the delector, and means for collecting surplus water at the discharge end ofthe casing.

3. In a humidi er, an outer casing, and an inner wall forming a spray-chamber, an annular passage between sald casing and said wall, means for supplying air to said annular passage, means for supplying spray to the spray-chamber, a conical dellector at the discharge end of the spray-chamber provided with means for regulating the amount ol means for sufpplying air to said annular pasi air current beats downward and inward the and downward across the walls, means for supplying spray to the spray delivered to theair issuing from said annular passage', and means for collecting surplus water.

4. In a humidifier, an outer and an inner wall, an annular passage between said walls, a spray-chamber within the inner wall,

sage, means r sup lying spray to the sprayohamber, means idr variably mixing' the spray and the air, means for directing the mixed spray and air radially from said walls, andmeans for collecting surplus water. y

5. In a humidifier, an outer and an inner wall, a passage. between said walls, a spraychamber within the .inner wall, means for supplying air vte theV passage between said spray-chamberkmeans for directingy the fine spray outward into the current of air as it issues from the walls, means whereby the coarser particles of water, and means for collecting surplus water.

6.` In-a humidifier, an outer and an inner wall, an annular air assage betweensaid walls, a spray-cham er within the inner wall, means for supplying air, means for supplying spray to4 said spray-chamber, means for dlverting part of the air inward through the dripfrom the inner wall, means for directing the remaining a'ir outward and drawing the fine spray with it, and means for collecting surplus water. e 7. 'In a humidifier, an outer and an inner wall, an annular air passage between said a drip receptacle below and separated from the inner wall, means for supplyingair, means for supplying spray to the spray-chamber, means for directing air across the upper end of said drip receptacle toward thecenter of the spray-- chamber, means for directing air outward path. o f the spray and drawing the spray with it, and means for collecting surplus water.

8. In a humidifier, concentrically arranged air and spray-chambers, a water receptacle below the wall of the spray- Atacle below and separate from the chamber. an air passage across and at the ying air to the air chamber,means for supplying spray to the s ray-chamber, and

means for collecting surp uswater.

9. In a humidifier, a casing, a spray-chamber, an air chamber between said casing and said spray-chamber, 1 means for collecting water Vfrom thel wall of the s ray-chamber, means for directing air latera into the spray issuing from the spray-chamber, means for supplying air, plying spray and means for plus water.

1.0. In la humidifier, a casing, chamberfmeans for'sup ceptacle to receive water om the wall of the spray-chamber, a vertically adjustable de flector for thrttlingv the spray Eand supported onn'thel wall of the means for supplying air, means for directing ai Spray-- 4 air inward across said receptacle, and means for collecting surplus water.

means for sup-v collecting sury and'inward lying spray, a respray-chamben,

voi

11. In a humidifier, a casing, a s ray-v chamber concentrically arranged 1n'sa1 casing, means for supplying spray, an annular `receptacle below and separate from Athe-wall of the spray-chamber and having 'an outer wall extending above the terminus of the wallof the spra -chamber to direct air inward across sai receptacle, a deflector for the spray, means for supplying air, and means for collecting surplus water.

12. In a humidiiier, a casing, a spraychamber concentricallyy arranged in said.

casing, means for supplying spray, a recepwall of the spray-chamber and having an outer wa'll extending above the lower end. ofthe wall of the spray-chamber, outlets 'for water in said wall of said receptacle, a deiiector at the discharge end of the spray-chamber, means for supplying ain, plus water.'

and means for' collecting sur- In testimonywhereof I affix my signature, I

in presence of Ltwo witnesses. y

STUART W. CRAMER. Witnesses: y

WM. B. HonGE, ARTHUR BoozER. 

